


Someone To Return To

by goldenteaset



Category: Dance with Devils (Anime)
Genre: Baked Goods, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Light Masochism, One-Sided Attraction, Philosophy, Shiki stop pestering the exorcist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 17:18:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5506274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldenteaset/pseuds/goldenteaset
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"This is the <i>strangest</i> evening Lindo’s had yet. First he gets bothered in the middle of shopping by a Fallen Angel, gets in a brawl with him, and now they’re having a philosophical debate? <i>At this rate, I’m never going to get home to Ritsuka.</i>"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Someone To Return To

**Author's Note:**

> If I had to place it anywhere timeline-wise, it'd probably be between episodes 7 and 8 (as Ritsuka puts it, her life's been full of Devils and Vampires "for awhile"). 
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Dance With Devils.

Lindo takes Ritsuka’s wellbeing very seriously, even if it’s something as simple as a craving for cream puffs. Hence why he’s standing in line at the best bakery in town waiting for his order…and feeling his knees ache and tremble from standing so long. He’s surprised: shouldn’t he be used to this feeling, after all the training he’s done?

_If it’s for Ritsuka, it’s fine_ , he thinks, as he shifts his weight from foot to foot. Above him he can hear a love song playing, something sweet and simple. He hums along absentmindedly, feeling soothed by the pleasant tune. While he could have simply baked Ritsuka some cream puffs back home, he wanted to look around town too. It’s been awhile since he was last here, after all, and it’s interesting to see how things have changed—or stayed the same.

_…I wish Ritsuka could stay the same._ It’s a fleeting thought, a fading spark in his mind, but it lingers. _Even though it’s impossible…that would make me happy._ He thinks of the look in Ritsuka’s eyes when he met her in front of that Devil’s house, how overjoyed she was to see him just like always. _But these days…these days all I’ve managed to do is make her sad._

He feels someone bump up against him, and he moves forward in line. The doughy scent of freshly baked bread eases him out of those pathetic thoughts, and he focuses on the present. Judging by the bookstand up ahead, he’s finally nearing the counter. _Ritsuka will be happy when she sees what I got her; that’s all that matters._

“You seem sad,” says a velvety baritone behind him. “You poor thing!”

Lindo tenses. The little shop seems to shrink and drop in temperature. The creamy walls feel like a cage, and the people around him remind him of sacrificial cattle.

“What do you want, Devil?”

“Fallen Angel, actually. And I’m just waiting in line, like you.”

“…Can you eat human food?”

“Yes, but it tastes funny.” He hears the Fallen Angel’s shoes _squeak_ on the linoleum floor. “Say, what are you getting?”

“None of your business.”

The Fallen Angel makes a long, pouting noise behind him. “But it’ll be boring just standing here! You’re mean…”

Lindo rolls his eyes and says nothing. _Why do you care, anyway?_

“They’re sweets for your sweet sister, right?”

Lindo grits his teeth. Like any nuisance, if you ignore it, it will eventually leave. It’s not like he can cause a ruckus here. He focuses on the quiet chatter around him, the _squeak_ of chairs being adjusted and the rhythmic _ding_ of the cash register.

“She’s so kind. And her hands are so soft.” The Fallen Angel sighs in longing. “She smells nice too—have you noticed?”

Lindo shakes his head despite himself.

“Oh, what a shame. Hmm…it’s like honey, or vanilla. Ooh, or peaches! All sorts of fragrant things.”

Lindo’s stomach lurches. _The Grimoire’s scent…?_ He wills himself to stay calm.

He feels a hot, feather-light breath on his neck. “Are you listen—”

Lindo’s shoulder smashes into the creep’s face. He hears a _thud_. The onlookers gasp, and he finds himself faced with a towering, burly bakery employee.

The bag of cream puffs is pushed into his hands, and they feel like dead weight. The employee’s scowl is enough to make flowers wither.

“Please leave, sir,” he says, with a voice like cold iron.

Lindo’s never left a building faster in his life. He insists he’ll pay the bakery back for any damage, but it appears that only the Fallen Angel was hurt—so Lindo has to deal with him. Lindo _does_ get some satisfaction out of seeing the Fallen Angel tossed out alongside him—empty-handed.

He seems a little surprised, but not disappointed. His purple hair looks almost black in the fading light, but his orange eyes stand out in the shadows. The bruise on his cheek is darkening. His school uniform’s rumpled, and Lindo watches him adjust his collar and tie like this happens all the time.

“Huh…I guess I’ll go back tomorrow.”

“That’s what you get for causing trouble,” Lindo says, as he adjusts the bag in his arms.

Shiki strokes the bruise and moans softly. “It feels so _good_ …thank you! I’m Shiki, by the way. Nice to meet you!”

“Disgusting.” Lindo turns to walk away, ignoring the overture of friendship.

He chooses a shortcut—a small alleyway that he’s used before. It’s barren of trash or shady people, just a stretch of concrete going straight ahead. _This way, the creampuffs will still be warm when I get back…_

“‘Disgusting’? Why?” Annoyingly, Shiki is strolling along beside him. “I’d think a guy like you would understand!”

“…Understand what?”

Shiki points to his cheek with a grin, wincing as the muscles make the bruise shift.

“Liking pain? No way.” Lindo can’t fathom it. “Pain is…something to be endured. You’ve got to get past it—and when you do, you become strong.”

“Ah, so intense! I wonder…how long _can_ you endure something you hate so much?”

Lindo stops in his tracks and squints suspiciously. “Was that a challenge?”

As soon as the words leave his mouth, he’s tackled to the ground. The bag leaves his hands. He lands with a _thud_. Weight presses slowly down on his chest. Pain bursts across his back, and he can feel Shiki’s cold hands fumbling against his skin. He grabs for them, forcing them away from his throat.

Shiki laughs like a child. “Better catch me quick!” His slender wrists slip out of Lindo’s hold like water through a sieve. “Oops, too bad.”

It’s Shiki’s turn to grab Lindo’s hands and press them back to the pavement. Lindo winces as the stone bites into his flesh. He tries to buck Shiki off, but somehow he can’t. He flinches away from the hot, panting breath on his cheek.

“Does it hurt?” Shiki whispers. There’s something primal lurking beneath his playful words. “Hey, tell me. Does it feel like a knife’s kiss on your skin?”

In response, Lindo headbutts him.

_Clunk._

Blood trickles down Lindo’s face—he’s unsure whose it is. He slowly lowers his head, wincing as his vision swirls sickeningly. His eyes slowly focus again.

A moan gusts above him. Shiki’s grip loosens.

Lindo takes his chance. His fists hit Shiki’s face again and again. Flesh shudders beneath his knuckles. He sees nothing but red.

Lindo’s not sure how long this goes on, but when he comes to he’s standing before Shiki’s pliant, shivering form, panting for breath. He wipes the blood from his face with shaking hands. He feels tired and a little sick, and slowly steps back from his “opponent”.

He forces himself to look at Shiki’s face— _This is_ your _fault, this is what happens when you give in to your true nature_ —and finds that the cuts and bruises he created are slowly healing. It’s like watching a film reel in reverse, though the blood continues to trickle. His skin crawls at the sight.

“That was fun,” Shiki says dreamily, wiping away the blood with his hands. He licks his palms and fingers carefully, not missing a drop. “Mmm, so _good_ …”

Lindo flinches as Shiki gets to his feet. _Is he going to attack again?_

“You dropped this.” Shiki picks up the bag and hands it to him.

“Uh…thanks, I guess.” He checks to make sure the creampuffs weren’t crushed. He sighs in relief—everything seems in order.

“Let’s call a truce before things get boring.” Shiki doesn’t wait for him to agree. “Don’t tire yourself out next time. I could have killed you just now.”

“Don’t tell me things I already know.”

“Do you want a band-aid?”

“Not from you.”

Shiki laughs. “Wait here,” he says, as he strolls toward a vending machine. “What would you like?”

_…An uneventful, quiet evening._ “Just water.”

“Really?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing! Just…it’s a plainer drink than I expected.”

Lindo watches closely for any tampering. He doesn’t see anything strange—just yen bills going into the machine, the _beep beep_ of buttons being pressed, and the ominous _clang_ of drinks being dropped into Shiki’s waiting hands.

“Here you go!”

Lindo instinctively snatches the bottled water sailing through the air, twisting the cap open without a problem. He carefully ignores the bloodstains he leaves on the clear plastic.

“Nice catch,” Shiki says as he walks back over, fiddling with the bronze-colored cap on his drink. It opens with a _pop_ that echoes in the alleyway.

Lindo squints at the wax-colored liquid inside. “What’s in that?”

Shiki looks at the drink in his hand thoughtfully and takes a sip. His lips pucker in delight. “Lemon and vinegar!”

Lindo keeps his thoughts to himself. He drinks his water in silence, listening to the blissfully ignorant citizens walk by. _I wonder what it would be like, to believe that Devils and Vampires were just stories…maybe that would be a good way to live._ He scowls. _No. That’s how Ritsuka lived her life until recently. And now she’s so scared, even when I tell her what she needs to hear…_

“You’re making an ugly expression,” Shiki says beside him. “But it’s appealing in it’s own way.”

Lindo doesn’t say anything.

He hears Shiki drink, then lower the bottle. “People say innocence is innate—from birth until you near adulthood. But that’s not true, is it?”

This is the _strangest_ evening Lindo’s had yet. First he gets bothered in the middle of shopping by a Fallen Angel, gets in a brawl with him, and now they’re having a philosophical debate? _At this rate, I’m never going to get home to Ritsuka._

“All souls are pure.” Lindo starts walking, knowing Shiki’s going to follow him.

“Ah, you learned your lessons well! But you’ve made a mistake. ‘Purity’ and ‘innocence’ isn’t the same thing. When you’re pure, you can be kind or cruel without hesitation—you act as the situation demands. When you’re innocent, you can’t act at all, because you don’t understand.”

“You’re confusing ‘innocence’ and ‘ignorance’. When you’re innocent, you want to learn about the world, not run away from it.”

“Hmm, I guess so.” Shiki chuckles. “Then a person like you would be ‘pure and ignorant’.”

Lindo bristles. “I’m _not_ running away. If I was, I wouldn’t be fighting for Ritsuka!”

“Oh, you’re fighting, I won’t deny that. But you’re not fighting for _her_. She’s a strong girl, you know. She can tell when someone’s lying—even Rem’s poker face can’t fool her for long! And she cares for others even when it hurts.”

“…Yeah, she’s something else. But kindness won’t win a fight.”

Shiki makes a strange noise, and Lindo turns to look at him. His shoulders are shaking in silent laughter, and the way his eyes glow with amusement gives him an eerie appearance.

“What’s so funny?”

“Sorry,” Shiki says, his voice higher than usual. “Just…you don’t know you’ve already lost her, and it’s _so funny_!”

Lindo begins to ask why, but he quickly puts the pieces together. “You think I’m coddling her, and that’s what’s causing her pain.”

Shiki’s chuckling trails off. “You’re half-right.”

“You’re not going to give me the answer?”

“Nope!”

_No wonder he was thrown out of Heaven._

“You’re lucky, you know,” Shiki says, before taking a slow sip of his drink.

Lindo knows what he means. “Do you have someone waiting for you?”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

Lindo looks up at the sky, and is shocked to see the stars are glowing to life. “I have to go.” He’s not sure why Shiki needs to know he’s leaving. He runs off, the bag swinging wildly in his hand.

“Tell Ritsuka I said ‘hello’…!” Shiki calls from behind him.

Lindo keeps running for home.

\---

The creampuffs make Ritsuka as happy as Lindo expected. She savors them at the kitchen table, trying to share them with him. He means to refuse—they’re _hers_ , after all—but in the end he can’t resist her gentle smile.

“Aren’t they good?” Ritsuka asks, her brown eyes reflecting the warm brightness of the room.

Lindo’s mind flashes to the way Shiki held his drink and sipped it carefully, as if it was his last. “Yeah.”

He takes another bite, enjoying the sweet cream and warm dough that washes over his tongue. He makes it a point to stay up with Ritsuka longer than usual, talking about anything and everything they can think of. For a while, it feels like everything’s back to normal.

“Oh,” Lindo says, before Ritsuka goes to bed. “I just remembered something.”

“Uh-huh?” Ritsuka asks sleepily, her eyes drooping.

“Shiki from the Student Council says ‘hello’.”

Ritsuka nods, as if this confirms something. “Is that where those cuts came from?”

Lindo winces. “…Yeah. But that’s all he did. It wasn’t a serious fight.”

“Good.” Her smile is barely visible in the dim light. “Good night, big brother.”

“Sleep well, Ritsuka,” he murmurs, feeling ready to sleep where he stands.

As he switches off the lights one by one, he finally feels like he’s home again. When he passes their mother’s empty bedroom, he feels his resolve strengthen. _Even if we’re only together for a moment, it’ll be enough._


End file.
